Good Samaritan
by QueenoftheDarned
Summary: In which Wrench helps a little old lady cross the road, and gets more than he bargained for. (Chapter 2 includes bonus Wrench/Josh because Happy Pride Month, and all that)
1. Chapter 1

**Good Samaritan**

Wrench was used to the good people of San Francisco giving him a wide berth on the street. _ "I know, I know," _ he'd quipped to Marcus once. _ "It's the neck tattoo." _ Marcus had laughed, but he'd only been half joking - there were weirder folks walking around the city than a masked punk with LEDs for eyes. But coupled with the tattoos (and the fact he was almost always packing heat), he knew he was, at best, mildly intimidating, and at worst downright terrifying. It mostly came down to what neighbourhood you were from. That was okay with him - he had a reputation to uphold after all.

That reputation apparently didn't stop him from helping little old ladies cross the street.

She was stuck right in the middle of Market Street, clutching an impressive silver-topped cane and sporting a red duffel coat that made her look like a candy apple. A dissonant chorus of car horns rang out as drivers expressed their displeasure at having to drive around her. For her part, she faced them down with the kind of confidence you only get from living through several wars. Then a douchebag on a moped nearly clipped her, and within three seconds Wrench legged it across two lanes (adding to the chorus of horns) and reached the grandma's side. He expected her to take one look at him and shriek with horror, maybe even faint, but her face creased into a smile as she gave him a wink.

"Well, it's not every day a masked stranger comes to an old lady's aid, is it?" she said, looking him up and down. Wrench found himself winking back, his mask translating the expression, which seemed to delight her further.

"Need a hand?" He held out an arm, and she flirtatiously took it.

"Why, thank you. Stupid me, the lights were red just up the street-" she gestured with her cane "-and I thought I could cut across here. I'm not as fast as I used to be!" Sticking his head out, Wrench saw an opening in the traffic and took it, the old lady shuffling along beside him. "You must think I'm a silly old coot."

"Nah, I've seen worse," he said. It was true, in a sense. He and Marcus had caused far worse traffic chaos in the course of a lazy afternoon. They both jumped, startled, as a car sped around the corner and came screeching to a halt. A guy in a suit stuck his head out of the window and leaned on his horn.

"HEY! Get your grandma out of the goddamn road!"

Wrench replied swiftly with a universal hand signal that definitely wasn't in the road code, and to his surprise and eternal delight, so did the old lady. The driver's face was starting to turn purple, but he ducked back inside his car. As soon as Wrench and his new friend had reached the sidewalk, he floored it and sped away down the street.

"Phew!" said the lady, dropping Wrench's arm and fanning herself with the end of her scarf. "Who would have thought that crossing the road would be such an adventure at seventy-three?" She grinned sassily at Wrench and held out a hand. When he took it, it was soft and warm. "I'm Frannie, by the way."

"Wrench." Frannie peered at the tattoos on his hand.

"Ohh, you like computers?" she exclaimed. "My grandson _ loves _ computers. He's a programmer." Her face lit up with pride, and Wrench couldn't help but feel a pang of… envy? Regret? He was sure of one thing; he wished Frannie was _ his _grandma. "I'm about to go and see him, why don't you come along?"

"Uh, that's real sweet, but- hey!" Wrench's reply was lost on Frannie, who grabbed his wrist and was already pulling him along, her stride suspiciously faster now she was safely on the sidewalk. Wrench wasn't sure if this constituted a kidnapping, but he had to admit he kind of wanted to see the grandson's reaction when he turned up.

**I•I•I•I**

The meeting spot was a bakery about a block away. They passed at least two crosswalks on the way, but Wrench decided not to point them out. He suspected Frannie refused to use them on principle, and felt his shriveled, blackened heart swell a little with kinship. She'd taken his arm again, earning them more than a few second glances from the other patrons. If anything, she seemed to revel in the attention.

"Order something nice, dear," she said, nodding at the menu board above the counter. "My treat."

"Really?" Wrench wasn't about to turn down free food, even if it came from a strange old lady who liked to pick fights with moving vehicles. The black lump in his chest inflated a little more.

"Of course! You're too skinny! Just like my grandson." Frannie tutted and patted the padding around her stomach. "You don't get to be my age without some extra insulation."

Wrench was deciding between a cream-filled doughnut and a glitter-sprinkled cupcake the size of his fist when something behind him caught Frannie's attention. She gasped, theatrically pressing a hand to her bosom.

"_There _ you are! Hello, my love!"

"Hi, Gram Gram," came the more measured reply. Wrench's head snapped up. He _ knew _that voice.

"Whoah, _ Josh? _" He spun around just in time to see his friend freeze mid-step, half inside the shop entrance.

"_Wrench? _" Josh's eyes went so wide Wrench could see his mask - two glowing O's - reflected in them. He glanced from Wrench, to Frannie, and back again with a kind of slow dawning horror that meant hundreds of scenarios were playing out in his head, each one worse than the last.

"Oh, you two know each other? Oh!" Frannie slapped her forehead. "You probably work at the same company! Do you work with those bitcode thingies too?" Josh was trying to communicate something to Wrench over Frannie's shoulder with the sheer force of his stare. Wrench wasn't exactly fluent in Joshinese (who was?) but he had a strong suspicion that Frannie was blissfully ignorant of what her grandson really got up to every day, and that enlightening her was _ not _a wise course of action.

"Bit...coin?"

"That's what I said!"

Wrench had forgotten Frannie's original question, but she was looking at him expectantly. His mask felt suddenly clammy against his skin.

"Yes?" he guessed, and from the satisfied nod Frannie gave him it seemed he'd gotten the right answer. Josh audibly exhaled and slipped into one of the padded booths.

"You two go ahead and catch up," said Frannie kindly, patting Wrench on the shoulder. "I'll order."

"What are you doing here?" Josh hissed across the little table when Wrench slid in opposite him.

"Frannie invited me," said Wrench, feeling a touch defensive. "I saved her life, dude. You should be thanking me." Josh was hardly listening. He rubbed his palms nervously on his pants.

"You can't tell her anything about DedSec," he said, the look in his eyes turning pleading.

"Doy, I guessed that. First rule of hacker club, much?"

"Here we go, boys!" Frannie squashed herself into the booth beside Josh and slid a tray laden with goodies onto the table. She'd picked out the glittery cupcake for Wrench, he noticed, and his not-so-shriveled heart grew even more.

Luckily for the boys, Frannie dominated the conversation, which meant as long as they nodded in the right places and made appropriate noises of acknowledgement, they didn't need to risk blowing their cover. That is, until the questions started.

"So what do you do with bitcodes, dear?" said Frannie, buttering her second scone. "Joshy keeps trying to explain it all to me but it never seems to stick." she slurped her coffee. "I'm a luddite," she added proudly. Josh winced.

"Uh, actually, I'm more of a… security guy," Wrench began, trying to think of something he could talk about that wasn't overtly illegal. Nothing came to mind.

"Ah yes, _ cyber _security." Frannie nodded sagely. "Very important, these days, what with everything connected to the internet. Did you hear that someone keeps breaking into the traffic lights?" She shook her head. "Serves the city right, I say! What do they expect, connecting everything to the internet?"

"It is kind of an open invitation," agreed Wrench, who was enjoying himself immensely. Josh kicked him under the table. "Not that I want that!" he amended quickly. "Fighting back against hackers and… ne'er-do-wells… is my job." (It wasn't a _ complete _ lie, he told himself. He _ had _recently sucker-punched a member of Prime Eight.)

"Of course, you young things probably like having everything connected to your smart phones, don't you?" said Frannie, hardly listening. "Well, I'd like to see anyone _ pwn _this!" she reached into her handbag and produced an ancient, decidedly un-smart phone. It even had soft buttons. Josh sank back against the padded seat as Frannie grinned, clearly pleased with herself.

"Is that an _ original _Lokia?"

"You're damn right it is! They don't make 'em like this any more!"

"Dude!" Wrench gestured to it with both hands, practically hovering in his seat. "Your Gram Gram has an _ original _Lokia!"

"I know." Judging by Josh's expression, he'd had this conversation before. Several times.

**I•I•I•I**

"You have the coolest grandma."

"That's the third time you've said that."

They were standing outside the bakery so that Wrench could smoke - Frannie had popped to the restroom 'to powder my nose', as she put it. This meant Josh got to relax, at least for a few minutes. That is, until a movement at the window of the tattoo parlour next door caught his eye.

"Oh no," he said, with feeling. Wrench followed his gaze to the window and drew back instinctively. There was someone - a horribly _ familiar _ someone - waving at them through the glass.

"Don't make eye contact," Wrench told him, as Lenni waved coquettishly and winked in Josh's direction. They spun around, but it was too late and they both knew it.

"She's going to blow our cover!" Josh hissed. Wrench grabbed his shoulders.

"Dude, okay, calm down-" Josh shook him off, waving cigarette smoke out of his face.

"-I _ am _calm!" They sprang apart as Frannie emerged from the bakery, oblivious to the drama playing out less than a foot away.

"I'm back!" she announced. "Now, where were we? Oh, is that another friend of yours?" Lenni waggled her fingers - she was bearing down on the three of them like a particularly determined bulldog. Josh opened his mouth to vehemently deny any connection with her, but Frannie was already waving back, clearly eager to meet another of Josh's 'friends'. All he could do was shoot a panicked look at Wrench. Wrench shrugged, helpless.

"_Heeeey _, Sugar Pie!" Lenni's face stretched into a cheshire cat grin - she was thoroughly enjoying his discomfort. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your granny?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: A Sunny Day in June**

_Eight Months Later_

It was a glorious day in the middle of June. Josh and Wrench were in the middle of Mission Dolores Park, testing the carrying capacity of the new quadcopter props Josh had designed and 3D printed.

Not so long ago, Wrench would have taken one look at Josh's blueprints, pissed himself laughing, and that would have been that. But the trove of documents they'd stolen from Tidis had changed things. The biggest proof was right here in front of them, hovering over the park (and only mildly bothering the people around them).

"Holy crap, it really works!" Wrench let out a whoop as Josh brought the brick-laden drone back towards them, testing its stability. "Take _that _, physics!" He bumped Josh's shoulder lightly with his own, earning him a shy smile. A few seconds later Josh's hand slipped into his, and he gave it an affectionate squeeze.

It was funny how things turned out, sometimes.

It had only been a few weeks since they'd stopped sneaking around and told the rest of the crew they were a couple. (Marcus and Sitara had smirked at one another, and Ray had thrown his hands up with an exclamation of 'fuckin' _finally_!', so maybe they weren't as sneaky as they thought.)

The two of them stayed like that for a few moments, basking in their success as the world carried on around them, indifferent to the technical mastery on display. Then Josh extricated his hand and turned his attention back to the controls. Wrench didn't mind - he knew when to back off and let the man do his own thing.

"If we scale up, imagine what we could carry," Josh said, his face flushed with excitement. "We could get injured protestors out from behind police cordons..." Dušan's arrest had sparked something in the hearts of the good people of San Francisco - a feeling that they weren't so inconsequential after all, perhaps. Whatever the reason, protests had erupted across the city, and DedSec were at the heart of it all.

It was a summer of changes, after all.

"There's my two lovely boys!" A familiar voice soared across the park, startling several pigeons and cutting off Wrench's reply. They turned to find Frannie bearing down on them, her face lit up with a big grin. She had her fire-engine-red duffel coat on, and was garnering about as much notice as an actual fire engine would as she puffed her way across the lawn.

"Hi, Frannie." Wrench recovered first, and got a bone-crushing hug for his trouble.

"Hello, loves!" Josh tolerated a powdery kiss on the cheek and quickly retreated before it could escalate into more physical contact.

"Hi, Gram Gram."

"I spotted you boys from the street, and, well, you looked so adorable I just had to come and say hello." Josh shifted his feet awkwardly, and Frannie chuckled. "Oh, don't be silly. I made it through the summer of love, you know. A bit of public hand-holding is hardly going to shock me!" People were starting to stare, Wrench noticed. And if he noticed, he knew Josh had _definitely _noticed. A quick glance confirmed this - he looked like a deer frozen in headlights.  
"And if anyone else has a problem with it, they can kiss my lily-white ass!" Frannie added loudly, earning the three of them some very bemused looks. Josh made a strangled noise - he looked like he wanted to melt through the floor.

"You said it, Grandma," said someone nearby, with feeling.

It took another twenty minutes for Wrench and Josh to politely extricate themselves from the conversation. This was mostly because Josh was paralysed with embarrassment and doing _anything _politely was not something that came naturally to Wrench. Once Frannie had happily gone on her way (and the initial trauma had worn off), they recalled their quadcopter and set off across the lawn in the direction of the hackerspace.

"You know, your Gram Gram's a badass," Wrench said, with a touch of envy in his voice. "If I had a spirit animal, she'd be it."

"I can't believe she said those words. Out loud." Josh was clutching the drone to his chest as if it could shield him from the embarrassment. Wrench was hardly listening.

"Yo, did I ever tell you how much I love your Gram Gram?"

"Yes. Several times."

They lapsed into silence as they crossed the street towards Gary's Games and Glory. Josh had already gone back to thinking of improvements to his drone props - he had his concentrating face on.

He surprised Wrench when they reached the door to the hackerspace, when he leaned over and planted a feather-light kiss on his jawline, just below his mask. LEDs blinked furiously as Wrench froze, startled.

"What was that for?" Josh shrugged, smiling faintly, his ears turning faintly pink.

"Just 'cause." He headed downstairs, leaving Wrench to recover his wits.

It was funny how things turned out, sometimes.


End file.
